Improvement in the manufacture of boots and shoes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAN READ, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,163, dated September26, 1865.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAN READ, ot' the city and State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Manufacturing Boots and Shoes,and in rendering them impervious to water, &c.

My invention consists in a-ttachin g the soles to boots and shoeswithout sewing, pegging, or nailing, and also in rendering the outersurface of the uppers impervious to water, 850.

To enable others skilled in the art to practice my invention, I willproceed to describe it.

The boot orshoeismadeor preparedolfleather or other suitable materialsin the ordinary manner, and fitted to the last with the inner sole inplace ready to receive the outer sole. A sole composed of gutta-percha,india-rubber, or other vulcanizable gums, mixed with the usualingredients and compounded and prepared in the manner well known topersons skilled in the art of preparing such gums for vulcanization, ismolded or cut to the desired shape to lit the boot or shoe to be soled.Then dissolve the same or similar com pound of gutta-percha,iudia-rubber, or other vulcanizable gums, prepared in the same or asimilar manner, in benzole or naphtha until a thin paste is produced,and cover the inner sole and the parts of the uppers which will come incontact with the outer sole, and place the outer sole in position on thebottom of the boot or shoe, and submit it to the usual vulcanizingprocess by placing the boot or shoein the ordinary steam-heaters usedfor that purpose.

When it is desired. to make the uppers impervious to water, a thin coatof the paste prepared as above stated is put upon the uppers andvulcanized in the same manner.

It will be readily seen that the sole and the cover on the uppers can beput on and vulcanized at the same time or by a separate operation, andthat either can be accomplished without the other.

The compound which I have found to produce the best results containedabout eighty per cent. of the gum, the sulphur and otheringredientsbeing varied according to the desired quality of the compound; but as Ido not desire to be understood as limiting myself to any quality of thecompound, the percentage of the gum may also be varied. The degree ofheatto be applied in vulcanizing will also vary according to the changesin the proportions of the gum and other ingredients in the compound. Inthat used by me, as above stated, I have found a temperature of about240 of heat, Fahrenheits scale, for about the space of five hours willproduce a satisfactory result,vulcanizing, the sole and covering on theuppers sufficiently without injury to the leather.

The principal advantages of my invention is that the outer sole issecured firmly and permanently to the leatherin such a manner that nowater or moisture can penetrate between the inner and outer soles, theaction of the paste being such as to securely cement them together inall parts and to cement the outer sole to so much of the upper-leatherof the boot or shoe as comes in contact with it; and the advantage of myinvention in coating the uppers consists, among other things, inallowing any desired portion to be so covered, leaving the remainder ofthe leather in the natural condition.

I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to the mannerdescribed for putting the outer sole on the boot or shoe, as it will atonce be apparent that as benzole or naphtha act as the dissolvents ofthe compounds in preparing the paste, the sole of the same compound maybe so saturated with these dissolvents as to cause it to adhere to theleather without the intervention of the paste.

Having thus described my invention, and the manner of applying it, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. Securingsoles made or formed of gottapercha, india-rubber, or other vulcanizablegums, compounded and prepared for vulcanization, to boots or shoes madeof leather, and vulcanizin g the same on, in the manner and for thepurposes specified.

2. Covering the uppers of boots and shoes made of leather with thecompound above referred to, and vulcanizing it on theleather, in

the manner and for the purpose specified.

DAN READ. Witnesses:

A. It. GUSHMAN, A. A. TAYLOR.

